Midnight Blue
by Lone Quincy
Summary: It's been a long time since the gangs gotten together, and what brings them back is news of a friend gone missing. (Honestly, it's a beta so please feel free to voice your opinions on it and any mistakes you catch, it would be extremely helpful and I'll be thankful! Originally Posted on my Wattpad)


August, Saturday 2:05AM

It was late, but the teen hadn't been able to sleep for a while now, four days to be exact, but he was used to it since it happened every time he stayed over at the main house; his room had been left exactly the same as when he had left it for the Academia, meaning that all he could think about when he was alone in it was Light and Darkness Dragon. It had been a little over three years since then, he'd graduated and gone pro just like the group of people he had learned to call friends, but there was always an empty feeling with in him whenever he was home alone; it made him toss and turn, stare at the ceiling and finally at some point in the night fall asleep due to exhaustion. It was a vicious cycle that he couldn't break free from whenever he was at home which is why he'd rather stay at a hotel or even one of the servant's homes, latching onto them whenever they walked out; at least onto the older ones since some of the younger ones had had the grand idea to try and make a move on him a couple of times to finally live in a life of luxury. All three of them had gotten themselves fired and managed to leave a bad taste in the males mouth since he had to tell Shoji (Jagger) about it, he was easier to talk to than Chosaku (Slade) and not just because they were closer in age, but because the eldest Manjoume was rarely at home and when he was it was because he was nearby and didn't have to stay at a hotel and waste the families money, something Shoji hated to a certain extent to say the least. But they were all the same as they had always been, quiet and hardworking, some more than others on special days but nevertheless they were all bringing in money from all the important fronts within the economic side of the world; Chosaku even brought it in from the celebrity side just as Jun (Chazz) did on a wild day with the press.

It was almost three in the morning when he managed to pass out this time, but before he had he'd actually managed to hear one of his brothers voices, he didn't know which, but he was sure it was Shoji, after all he was the only one that ever actually came home, no matter how later ir was since he was technically the only authority around seeing as Chosaku refused to come home if the trip would be longer than an hour by car; he wasn't fond of long car rides at night or in the late afternoon. But he'd been grumbling all his way to his room, which meant that Jun would have to deal with a grouchy brother once morning came; that was the last thing on his mind before the male fell asleep.

Saturday 8:15AM

It had been a little over five hours before Jun found himself staring at the foot of his bed, actually he was staring at his legs, his eyes were half open and everything was a blur but he could tell that the person laying across his legs in the most childish manner was Shoji; it only happened once a year and on occasion Chosaku joined in on the fun and when he did Shoji ended up laying on the youngest Manjoume's stomach. That being said, one could now guess what day of the year it was, Jun's birthday; that could only mean one thing, a family get together and people making fun of him as if he was a kid again, which he didn't hate. For the most part, at least not until Chosaku and Shoji took turns smacking each of his shoulders equal to the amount of how old he'd become. Could he even take 19? He almost wished he could roll off the bed and hide for the day, but they had to visit the cemetery as well today, so their parents could see what a fine young man their youngest son had become; finally, after such a long time, he heard his older brother speak.

"How long do you plan on sleeping in this time dear brother?" Asked Shoji in the groggiest tone he'd ever heard, it almost made him laugh, but now he was concerned as to how his older brother had actually managed to get over to his room all dressed.

"Mm," Replied Jun, as if still asleep, only to get the covers pulled off of him so Shoji could cover himself. "Hey, if you're gonna do the same thing I want to try and do, then go to your own bed." He said with a much quieter tone than he thought it would be in, but his mouth was dry and it actually hurt to speak for the moment.

"Couldn't sleep, I assume." Shoji replied, turning his head so he could look at his younger brother as he spoke. "Neither could I." He finally added as Jun sat up only to stretch out his arms and blink a few times before yawning, he watched as Jun ruffled his own hair and waited for an answer which only came once each of their smoky hues met each other's.

"Not really, I heard you walking by before passing out, but that's not sleeping."

"That's true, I actually woke up thanks to a call from Chosaku saying he'd meet us at the cemetery this year."

"Guess we'd better get ready then, don't wanna make him wait seeing as he doesn't even have time to come home and crush me like you are."

"Such a rude birthday boy this year, hm?" After saying that Shoji got up, making a mess of blankets as he stretched. "I actually passed out in this outfit so I'll meet you at the table for breakfast after I do something about _this_." He said as he motioned at himself, pausing at the door for a moment before looking back and with a gentle smile he spoke. "Happy birthday, Jun." And like that, he was gone.

"Guess I should get ready too." Mumbled Jun, smiling slightly at the fact that his older brother, a man thought of as a heartless money hungry being could actually smile like that, it was just bit funny to him, but all three brothers were that way and it was like looking in a mirror when the other managed to make that sort of face. Finding something black to wear wouldn't be hard anymore, after he became a pro all he wore was black after all. And so, he finally got up and headed for the bathroom to shower and get dressed for the days trials.

Saturday, 8:40AM

It was almost nine by the time Jun made his way down the staircase, Shoji was already at the breakfast table eating an egg and some toast and a glass of water per his request, he had never liked eating too much on any 'special' day and no one really knew why, that was just how he was and no one questioned it. Jun on the other hand had a slight problem with eating as a whole when he didn't sleep right so he didn't bother trying to eat anything and only had a glass of water to start the day, he'd be able to eat properly later in the day so it wasn't a problem. They had to leave soon anyway and it would be only them this time around, usually Chosaku drove them to the cemetery but this year it would be Shoji and that meant a whole hour and a half to the families designated burial ground. It wasn't until their father moved out of the town that the Manjoume were as greatly known of as they were now, though it was only their father and his offspring that lived the life of 'luxury' due to wanting to keep his empire safe and sound; though it was thanks to their mother that it had even become an empire, but enough about that, today wasn't about them, today was about Jun and only Jun. At least to him and Shoji it was, who knew if Chosaku would have the time, though they had all make it clear to those they worked with that there would be at least seven days in the year in which they couldn't at all show up for work, he was the only one who ever had trouble getting what he asked for thanks to his line of business.

Jun had been staring at the glass of water that had been brought to him the entire time as he thought about everything that had happened this last year of his life, he'd actually managed to confess his feelings to Asuka (Alexis) only to get turned down and have to spend a more than interesting night with Daichi Misawa since he had been too –a night he slightly regretted whenever he saw him– and he'd gotten to duel against Judai again after he'd become the new 'Champion'; Koyo Hibiki's reign was ended by a rookie that year and in an unofficial match Judai's was by Jun, things were honestly going well that year for Jun. He was an undefeated duelist but not the Champion, well known but still unheard of in some places; he himself after all didn't go by his name, many people knew him only as the 'Dragonic Ruler' and those who actually did their homework knew he was a Manjoume. But that year of his life was over and he could only hope that the new one for him would be just as good, if not more.

"..un... Jun, it's time." Shoji spoke as he stood up, the youngest Manjoume shook his head a bit to get it out of memory lane and back to reality, Shoji was asking the maid to bring over the car keys once Jun had gotten things back in order in his head, and since Shoji didn't know where he'd left them last night when he showed up after work they would both have to wait at the door for one of them to arrive with it or the spare so it was better to just head over there now while Shoji ran off to was his mouth.

"Right, sorry." Jun said as he stood up and stretched at bit, not like his brother would hear him since he was already on his way up the stairs as he himself made his way over to the main entrance.

By the time Shoji had come back, Jun was holding onto the keys and staring out the stained-glass windows next to the large wooden doors. He was even startled by the gentle hand that was placed on his shoulder by his older brother.

"Let's go now, we don't want to make Chosaku give up on us for his schedule." Shoji said with a soft tone, a bit saddened by his own words, but they both knew it wasn't their older brother's fault that he didn't have time to himself like they did.

"Yeah, let's go." He replied with an overly soft tone, as if he didn't even want to reply, but he had to say something to the other so it didn't look like he was ignoring him; he'd probably end up falling asleep during the car ride anyway so he might as well talk while he was still awake, even if it was only a few words.

Saturday, 10:45AM

They had left the house at 9:15AM, they had talked about how Jun's career was going for a little while before he fell asleep, something both of them knew would happen; not that Shoji minded seeing as he'd need to concentrate on driving so he wouldn't fall asleep himself. They got to the cemetery at around 10:37AM, all they had to do now was meet up with Chosaku, who was probably already at their parents graves since they didn't see him standing at the entrance; it took Shoji a while to actually wake Jun up, after all he had to pick up the bouquets he'd brought for each of their parents before even bothering with his sleeping brother.

"Jun," He finally said, closing the car door before walking over to his brothers side and opening that one. "Jun get up, we're here." He said with a stern tone, as if he'd become a whole new person within the time that it had taken them to get there.

The youngest Manjoume's eyes opened slowly, a hand brought up to rub the left eye and only brush over the right. "What? Already?" He asked with a groggy tone, it seemed like this time around he'd actually slept, which was good. "Where's Chosaku?" He asked as he looked around, it made Shoji feel like the boy had forgotten that they'd come in separate cars, but he didn't say anything about it, instead he replied with a slight smile and a few words.

"He's waiting for us." They'd been spoken with a soft tone, one Jun had never heard come from him, but now that he looked up at him he could see why he was talking like that; Shoji's eyes were actually a little red and that meant he'd been crying, it was Jun's birthday that was closest to their actual death date, even if both died a year apart both managed to die in August. One from a sickness and one out of loneliness, they really had loved each other and no one had viewed it more than a political marriage for their entire life; how awful people were, that was something that Jun always seemed to think, even now as he got out of the car and gave Shoji a more reassuring smile than the one he'd been given.

Though younger than he, Jun was less sensitive than Shoji nowadays; he had Light and Darkness to thank for that, even if remembering the dragon made him feel alone at times. But at least now both of them were headed towards where their eldest brother would be, in silence and with a heavy heart, though it weighed less than the last time they had been there; a lot less and the Manjoume brothers were glad about that.

It took a little while for them to get over to Chosaku since Shoji had to clear the tears out of his eyes a few times, it was something he couldn't do in front of Chosaku; after all he was not only his brother, but a man he respected, and even if Shoji hated showing this side to Jun it made the younger male feel as if they were back to how they had been when he was a child. Close, truly close once again; though it was at the cost of the others glass of emotions spilling over. But it was fine, Shoji felt fine after letting it all out instead of holding it in until he was alone, the occasional gentle pat to the back which Jun gave him was also comfortable in its own way; he was as he always was once they got to Chosaku and that's all that mattered.

Once they could finally see Chosaku, Jun felt a bit off, there was someone there with him; a woman? His secretary? He wasn't sure and neither was Shoji, but as they got closer they realized that their older brother was holding her hand. Actually holding it. Could she be? No, she couldn't be, right? But, then, why bring her with him? As the confusion set in both the younger Manjoume the eldest spoke.

"Shoji, Jun, you're finally here." He said as his head rose slightly, waiting for his brothers to place the flowers they'd gotten for their parents where they belonged before he finally spoke again. "Father, mother," he began, "Shoji, Jun, I know this isn't the right time to say this, but this is one of the only times we are all together and so, I would like to introduce to all of you my lover. She is someone I would like to marry, but I thought it more proper to introduce her to all of the family first." He said with a low tone, she on the other hand bowed slightly, but didn't say anything.

Jun was standing a little too close to Shoji at the time Chosaku said exactly what they had both expected out of him, and so, when he finally said it Shoji grabbed onto Jun's arm for support. He couldn't take this, it was too much for a man like him, so many things had happened today and in all honesty if he had eaten properly he was sure he'd have lost it all then and there; he couldn't speak, his eyes even widened at the news, so Jun took over.

"I see. . well, I'm sure mother and father would approve of anyone you deemed worthy to marry." The youngest Manjoume said with a soft tone, placing a hand over Shoji's as if to try and say they were leaving due to his health. "Shoji isn't feeling well so, we had planned to go back home after this. Will you be joining us, Chosaku?" He finally asked, glancing over at the woman as he did so.

"No, no. . I have other things to do, unfortunately. I do hope you feel better soon, Shoji." Chosaku said as both he and the woman turned to leave, only to stop a few steps away from the gate to the Manjoume tombs. "Oh, and, happy birthday Jun." And with that he was gone.

"Yeah, happy birthday to me." Jun said with a soft tone once Chosaku had left, Shoji had started trembling slightly and Jun knew what would happen after that so he guided him over to a bench that was near by, preparing himself for a long drive home since he hadn't driven anything in over six months.

Saturday, 12:50PM

They left the cemetery at around eleven, Shoji wasn't in any condition to drive so as expected Jun had to do it. Thankfully Shoji managed to fall asleep due to exhaustion on the drive home, so much crying wasn't good for the new head of the household seeing as Chosaku was moving out.

What was Jun doing now though? He was sitting in the car with a sleeping older brother in the passengers seat, mulling over everything that had happened, so far, today; once he thought it over it was more than obvious as to why Shoji had ended up in that condition, he was tough, but he was still human. That being said, the only good amount of, actual, rest he's gotten was during the car ride as well, and now he was feeling a bit tired himself, hungry too, but when he closed his eyes to blink he couldn't open them back up.

Saturday, 4:37PM

There was a knock, it sounded distant and as if it were against glass, his room was on the second floor so that was impossible right? No, no it wasn't impossible. He'd fallen asleep on the car hadn't he? And so had Shoji. It took a while, but Jun finally acknowledged the maid and dismissed her, waiting for her to leave before he did anything. Then, with a slight groan Jun started to open his eyes properly, rubbing them as he had that morning when Shoji woke him up. When things weren't as bad as they were now. But they were and now he had to bring his brother back into the reality he seemed to have successfully escaped within his dream land; if he even had dreams anymore.

"Hey," Jun spoke with a soft tone, half hoping Shoji wouldn't hear him, but they'd both slept long enough to shift out of R.E.M. and into that stage where he'd be able to hear and ignore or acknowledge. And he acknowledged.

"Mm?" Was the only reply Shoji was able to manage, his throat was dry and his eyes still burned a little.

"We're still in the car you know." Jun pointed out, as if Shoji didn't already know.

"Yeah." He almost didn't manage to say that, it sounded more like a croak but that's all Shoji could give.

"Let's get off, eat something or go to bed. We both know at least you need it." Jun replied as he unbuckled his seatbelt and pulled the doors handle so it would open with an awfully loud click. It was things like that that people noticed during unnecessary times.

It didn't take long for Shoji to do the same, but before opening his door he spoke once more. "Please don't tell anyone what happened to me."

And with that Shoji disappeared into his room for the rest of the evening, leaving Jun to sit down in the living room and think about what he'd seen, what he'd heard, and what he'd done.

Saturday, 7:40PM

His eyes were closed, he was ready to give into sleep for once, but his phone rang. His phone rang and it was that special ringtone he'd set for all his close friends, even Judai (Jaden) had it. Sure, they fought more than they talked, but it was all in good rivalry. All for a fun duel. So what did he want this time? There was only one way to find out:

"Thank you for calling Majo Sushi, our hours are six a.m. to seven p.m., please leave a message after the tone. . . Tone."

"That was a really funny one this time 'round Jun, you're gettin' good." Replied an unusually cheerful tone.

"I'll get you to hang up eventually. So, what can I do you for, Judai? What does the Champion need with a little ol' dragon master, hm?" Jun replied, propping himself up on his left elbow for a better position, there was no way this was going to be a short call from the sound of it so he was better off getting comfortable.

"Well," He began, his tone much more hushed than before. "It's about Johan (Jesse). I don't know the details, but from the looks of it he got himself into somethin' deep, I don't know if it's spirits deep or somethin' like that, but he's practically gone off the grid and none of us know where he could be. And, I really hate to ask this of you, but your the one with brain and bronze out of all of us so. If you-"

"By bronze you mean money don't you? Money and people, right?" Jun interrupted, sighing deeply as he finally sat up.

"Yeah. You probably think I'm, for lack of better words, shit, don't you? Only calling when I need somethin' and only visitin' when my career takes me to where you are." He paused for a moment and it got so quiet it almost seemed like the line had gone dead, but Jun could hear the soft curse words he tried to hide from his ears. "Forget it, forget I called."

"Judai I swear if you hang up without hearing what I have to say I'll hunt you down and properly take that title of yours." Jun replied, he sounded irritated and he spoke so fast it almost came out as a jumble of letters instead of words. But it got his friend to chuckle a bit.

"Alright." He replied with a calmer tone. "So, what will you do?"

"First off, I want you to tell me the last place he was seen and anything he said that might tell us where he could be. Secondly, I'll only help you out if you're at my place by this time tomorrow. Eight is your deadline for my help, of course I'll be doing anything and everything I can to try and track him down through that time, but if you fail to show up I'll just get rid of any leads I got on him. Got it?"

"Yes sir, took note of it all." Replied Judai, after all, he knew he could count on Jun for these things. He was actually pretty skilled at gathering information, it was to the point where he could be an informant if dueling got boring for him.

"Oh, and, I doubt it will be a one man thing or even two so bring whoever you think will be able to help out." Jun finally added.

"You got it boss, I'll call the crew to see who'll be in on this and report at your place tomorrow afternoon." Judai's tone was cheerful again, but there was another sudden pause, one Jun knew well. "Thank you, Jun."

"Yeah yeah, go do your part and I'll start on mine once you tell me what I need to know."

Saturday 10:15PM

From what Jun was told, it seemed like Johan was on his way over to Egypt, and not for all the old hieroglyphs, but for the insects; obviously, but according to James (Jim) who'd been the one who invented him over, he never made it. Then again, according to some security and their willingness to fork over the tapes, his large amount of house workers, they found out that Johan did get on a plane; but it was headed towards Russia. Why? Who knew. So, the only thing left to do was call James, but was he even awake? Only one way to find out.

"Hey, what's up?" Replied a voice that only after their first year at the Academia became familiar to Manjoume.

"Cook, hey, Judai told me about Johan, can you talk right now or?" Right to the point, he wanted to learn enough to make Judai feel like dying just in case he was late.

"You can call me James like everyone else you know?" His tone was no longer as cheerful, one could say it had even gotten sullen.

"Cook is shorter, anyway so you have time right now or not? I'm on a schedule here." Jun reiterated.

"Yeah, yeah. What do you need?"

"I want to know everything, I want to know how you got Johan to agree to go over there, I want to know if he said anything after, anything. If he sounded off or said something out of the ordinary, for him." That last bit was for safe measures, Jun had to know as much as possible and keep note of it, so for this he pulled out his 'journal'.

"Hm, well," James began, but he kept pausing and Jun didn't like it. Was it another evil spirit? He didn't have Light and Darkness to protect him anymore, he didn't want it to be spirits; he'd take the Yakuza or the Russian mobs over that. But he had to cut his thoughts off there and let him go on:

"I told him I'd caught a beetle, well a scarab to be exact. The kind that the ancient Egyptians painted everywhere, those." He said, pausing again to take a breath. "That caught his attention and he said he'd come over since he'd never been here and now he had a reason to come over."

"I see, and do you have any idea as to why he'd ever go to, let's say, Russia?" Jun replied, as if trying to make it sound like Johan wasn't there.

"No, none at all. Insects are friends of the cold so why would he go somewhere like that?" James' tone changed slightly, but he didn't say anything else.

"Right, right. Guess there's no point in checking any place with extremely cold weather. Thanks, James, I'll-"

"Wait, now that you mention it, I remember Johan saying that Amon (Adrian) was currently in Russia for something. I can't remember why he's there, but I know he's there." James said quickly, interrupting Jun, but for once Jun was thankful for it.

"Really? Well, it's really late where I am so I'll call you later if I find anything out." Jun said, though he already had a bit of information.

"Yeah, good luck." James said before hanging up.

So what now? It was almost Sunday and he was actually tired, meaning he'd set an alarm and put his 'journal' down for the night. Not to mention he had to speak to Shoji about what was going on with Chosaku. At least he wanted to, Shoji on the other hand seemed like he didn't want any of it, but he already had enough stress to deal with and talking it out might help. But for now, Jun would try and rest a bit and mull over everything he'd learned. He'd have to call Amon as well, before Judai showed up with whoever he wanted.

[Note: Feel free to comment anything, it's a beta and I'm 100% cool with constructive criticism like voicing ideas or pointing out typos and things like that, sorry in all honesty.]


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